During his first visit to China in five years, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday, marking the recent upswing in bilateral relations and expressing India's solidarity with China's presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Pleased to meet Vice President Han Zheng shortly after reaching Beijing this morning. Expressed India's support for China's SCO Presidency. Spoke of the enhancement in our bilateral relations. And was optimistic that talks during my visit will continue on that positive track," Jaishankar posted on social media site X.
During the meeting, Jaishankar underlined New Delhi’s commitment to supporting China’s leadership of the SCO and welcomed the steady improvement in India-China relations, especially following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, last October.
"India welcomes a successful Chinese chairmanship at the SCO. Our bilateral relationship, as you've noted, has been progressively improving since that meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in (Russia's) Kazan last October," Jaishankar said.
He also mentioned the decision to restart the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra—a move which he added has been well received in India. "The resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is also appreciated broadly in India. Further normalisation of our relations can bring mutually rewarding results," he pointed out.
Referring to the international context of their encounter, Jaishankar further said, "The international situation, as we meet today, is very complex. As neighbouring nations and major economies, an open exchange of views and perspectives between India and China is very important."
This visit is Jaishankar's first to China since the Galwan Valley face-off in June 2020 that had gravely strained bilateral relations. His arrival in Beijing comes after recent high-level interactions, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's attendance at SCO defence ministerial meetings conducted in China in June.
Jaishankar arrived in Beijing from Singapore, the second leg of his two-country visit. He will also meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a bilateral meeting later on Monday. The two had last met in February during the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg, where they reaffirmed the significance of mutual cooperation and trust.
The meeting of SCO foreign ministers will be held in Tianjin on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Wang Yi is also expected to travel to India next month to hold talks with NSA Ajit Doval under the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism. The upcoming dialogue is a part of continuous efforts to resolve the longstanding boundary problem between the two nations.
